The White Cross route and a ride on the rail bike in Chauvigny

Start from the Market Square, near the bandstand.

(S/E) Head north towards the town hall. Cross Rue du Marché and turn left (towards the Vienne). At the roundabout, go straight ahead.

(1) Cross the bridge over the Vienne. Downstream, particularly when the water level is low, note the remains of the piers of the old bridge, which was destroyed in the early 19th century. Continue straight on along the Route de Poitiers, walk past the cemetery and cross the road in front of the care home.

(2) At the next junction, turn left twice and follow Rue des Pignons Blancs. Then take the path on the left at the car park (opposite Rue des Bois Galants). When you reach No. 35, take the path on the left. It is a small lane lined with hedges. After a gentle slope (on a bend) and a few steps, you will reach Vélorail.

(3) Turn right and follow the Vélorail tracks.
Take care and keep well to one side to allow Vélorail users to pass.
Cross the viaduct over the Vienne. The next bridge crosses the Route de Lussac (D749); continue along the Vélorail.

(4) Just before the next bridge (the green one crossing over the Route de Montmorillon), leave the Vélorail via the path that descends to the right onto the Route de Montmorillon. Cross it and immediately turn left onto the Route des Rocs (which is almost directly opposite the path you have just left). This is a road that curves upwards.

At the roundabout, turn left into Rue de la Talbatière. At the cross (dating from 1876), take the footbridge that crosses over the Vélorail. Go down the steps in front of you, then along Rue de la Maison Rouge. Cross Rue Alfred Vallat on the right-hand side and you’ll reach Place du Bourg (the Saint-Pierre-les-Eglises war memorial).

Then turn right. After passing Rue du Bas Bourg on your left, turn left into Rue de la Paix (public baths built in 1934). At the next junction, turn left into Rue Vassalour. Cross Route des Frères Caille on your right. Then cross the square diagonally to the right until you reach the bandstand. This will bring you back to the starting car park (S/E).

On the market square, you will find public toilets.

After (1):

When you reach the cemetery, you can enter it. A monument was erected in 1915 to provide a place of remembrance for families whose dead had not been found. It was converted into a war memorial after the war, bearing the names of all the fallen soldiers.

When you reach the Super U, on the left, further down, lies the White Cross quarry, abandoned at the end of the 19th century, which bears numerous traces of extraction by pickaxe. The supermarket is built on a sand pit. A project dating from 1882 (though it never came to fruition) envisaged linking the quarry and the sand pit via a tunnel dug beneath the road. A railway line was to run through it to reach the stone-cutting works near the station.

Next (4):

When you’re in the Place du Bourg, you can see the War Memorial for the parish of St Pierre les Eglises.

I invite you to visit the Vélorail website for full details.

In the heart of the medieval town, in the upper town, you can discover:

- The Collegiate Church of Saint Pierre, a jewel of Romanesque art.

- The ‘Giants of the Sky’ show at the Château des Evèques.

- Harcourt Castle, the Tour de Flins, Montléon Castle and the Gouzon keep.